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Brands Hatch 2013
The was the second round of the 2013 DTM Championship, held at Brands Hatch in the United Kingdom.'2013 DTM calendar', gpupdate.net, (JHED Media B.V., 2013), http://www.gpupdate.net/en/calendar/189/2013-dtm-calendar/, (Accessed 26/10/2015) It proved to be the series last visit to the Kent circuit with three drivers, Gary Paffett, Jamie Green and Andy Priaulx, competing at their home race. Mike Rockenfeller claimed victory after inheriting pole position from Martin Tomczyk, whom had been excluded from qualifying.'ROCKENFELLER WINS AT BRANDS HATCH FROM SPENGLER AND WICKENS', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 19/05/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/rockenfeller-wins-brands-hatch-spengler-and-wickens-2013-05-19.html, (Accessed 14/12/2015)'MARTIN TOMCZYK CLAIMS POLE POSITION AT BRANDS HATCH', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 18/05/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/martin-tomczyk-claims-pole-position-brands-hatch-2013-05-18.html, (Accessed 14/12/2015) Completing almost 100 laps, Rockenfeller went almost completely unchallenged to take victory for the first time in two seasons, ahead of the two Canadians, Bruno Spengler and Robert Wickens. Background Two weeks after the season opener there was little change in the DTM paddock, with rave reviews of the new rules. Qualifying was slightly modified for Brands Hatch, however, with the numbers eliminated in Q2 dropped to six, with a further six relegated in Q3. Otherwise, there was little to report ahead of the first non-German race of the season. Augusto Farfus' victory in Hockenheim saw him lead the DTM Championship, ahead of Dirk Werner whom had impressed in his drive to second from twentieth in the opening round. Christian Vietoris led the Mercedes challenge from third, ahead of home comer Gary Paffett, with defending Champion Bruno Spengler fifth. Timo Scheider was the best of the Audi drivers in sixth, while débutante Marco Wittmann found himself in ninth, the best of those taking their first steps in DTM. Farfus' win, combined with the six points scored for Joey Hand left BMW Team RBM at the head of the Teams' Championship, ahead of BMW Team Schnitzer. The two Mercedes backed HWA Teams trailed in third and fourth, while Team Abt led the Audi charge in fifth. It had been a disappointing opening weekend for the Ingolstadt squad, already 30 points off of BMW, although they were only just behind Mercedes. Entries Below is the entry list for the : Qualifying A dry and warm late spring afternoon greeted the field for qualifying on Saturday, with the impressive practice pace suggesting that the qualifying lap record was about to be smashed. The modified qualifying format was also on display for the first time, further heightening the intrigue. Q1 Mike Rockenfeller was the first man to hit the circuit as Q1 started, immediately setting a time under 0:42.000, before finding another three tenths to top the session. The fifteen minute session, and the short layout of the Brands Hatch circuit, saw the order constantly shift, with almost every driver completing five laps before the halfway mark. Only Christian Vietoris and Martin Tomczyk had not reached that mark, neither having hit the circuit at all, although it was not long before they both did so. Impressive first laps for Tomczyk and Vietoris saw them shoot to first and fourth respectively, as a final burst of times signalled the end of the session. Marco Wittmann went fastest with his last run to end the session fastest, also managing to leap to safety as the barrier to elimination shifted. Out of qualifying were Vietoris, Roberto Merhi, Pascal Wehrlein and Daniel Juncadella (all Mercedes), as well as Filipe Albuquerque and Jamie Green for Audi, as all eight BMWs survived. Q2 Like Q1, Rockenfeller hit the circuit fast and hard, although Miguel Molina was quick to displace him. They continued to swap the fastest time between them throughout the first part of the 11 minute session, before Tomczyk went fastest by half a tenth. By the halfway point of Q2, Mercedes looked set to lose one of their two remaining cars, with Audi losing two and BMW dropping three. As was the case earlier, the final moments of Q2 saw the order shuffle relentlessly as drivers completed their last attempts. Gary Paffett dragged himself to seventh, joining Robert Wickens in the safe zone, only to be relegated to twelfth and out during the final flurry. Wickens also dropped out after slipping to fourteenth, meaning all six Mercedes were outside the top ten, joined by Dirk Werner and Timo Glock, the first of the BMW casualties in qualifying. and Adrien Tambay completed the elimination order for Audi. Q3 The eleven minute Q3 session was led out by Rockenfeller once again, although several drivers, notably Bruno Spengler, opted to stay in the pits. Tomczyk went out early too, and was quick to establish himself at the top of the time sheet, Rockenfeller and Molina scrapping for second. Augusto Farfus then split them by taking third, before Spengler's first lap sent him into the top four, only to be displaced by Joey Hand. The top four would remain untroubled for the rest of Q3, as Rockenfeller, Tomczyk, Farfus and Hand survived to go through to the Pole Shootout. Pole Shootout First onto the circuit for the Shootout was Hand, but a mistake for the American racer on his only lap meant he went slower than he had in Q3, leaving him fourth. Farfus went next, unable to match his Q3 time either, but was significantly faster than Hand to go fastest, before being edged out by 0.004s by Rockenfeller. Tomczyk was last onto the circuit, and found half a tenth to top the times and take pole, in a session where the final times for all 22 drivers were split by just six tenths of a second. Post-Qualifying After qualifying, Tomczyk was excluded from the results for having an underweight car. All of the German's times from qualifying were wiped out, meaning Rockenfeller would start from pole, and Tomczyk from the very back of the grid. The full qualifying results from the meeting are shown below: ** Tomczyk excluded from the results for having an underweight car.'CAR UNDERWEIGHT: TOMCZYK LOSES POLE POSITION TO ROCKENFELLER', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 18/05/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/car-underweight-tomczyk-loses-pole-position-rockenfeller-2013-05-18.html, (Accessed 14/12/2015) Race The first non-overcast day of the weekend saw track temperatures smash through the 30 barrier as the start time approached, with the tyre choices announced in the morning.'TYRE CHOICE: THE DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 19/05/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/tyre-choice-decisions-have-been-made-2013-05-19.html, (Accessed 14/12/2015) Fans were optimistic of an exciting race, despite Brands Hatch's reputation among the DTM drivers for lacking overtaking, largely due to its flowing nature. Yet, with Martin Tomczyk out of place after being excluded from qualifying having set fastest lap, many were hoping to see the German fight through the field and challenge for the win. Report It was a stalemate on the front row at the start, as Mike Rockenfeller held onto the lead from Augusto Farfus into Paddock Hill Bend, the pair getting identical starts. The same could not be said for Joey Hand as the American tumbled down the order, although all 22 cars left the grid in short order. Bruno Spengler and Marco Wittmann made ground to sit third and fourth respectively, with Timo Scheider also making his way past Hand before the end of the lap. The familiar brawl in the midfield saw the order shift constantly during the opening laps, although none could match the progress of Tomczyk's charge. By the time DRS was activated on lap three, the German was in the top fifteen, and setting up a move on Adrien Tambay into Druids. A lap later and Tomczyk was twelfth, benefiting from early stops from Tambay, Gary Paffett and , who switched to softer rubber. That began the slow trickle of cars into the pits, with Dirk Werner and Christian Vietoris the latest to make the switch as the Rockenfeller and Farfus settled into a steady rhythm at the front of the field. Timo Glock and Roberto Merhi, meanwhile, were squabbling for tenth place as their rivals began to stop, allowing Tomczyk to loom ever closer to the points. A clean driver for Merhi out of Druids set the Spaniard up perfectly for a dive down the inside of the German into Graham Hill Bend, forcing Glock to run wide on the exit and across the grass. Glock and Jamie Green remained the only drivers to start on the hard tyres to stay out as the first ten laps were completed, as Rockenfeller caught those who had. Green proceeded to take Glock with an impressive move down the inside of Paddock Hill Bend, catching the German by surprise, before stopping in the pits a couple of laps later. Rockenfeller, meanwhile, was beginning to pull clear of Farfus, establishing a one and a half second lead at the fifteen lap mark, as several drivers thought about taking off their soft tyres. Green emerged from his stop a lap down on the leaders, but his attempts to get past Farfus caused both to lose time, the Brit being on fresher rubber. Andy Priaulx, meanwhile, was running in the top ten at his home race, stopping on lap 25 for the hard tyres. He emerged down in sixteenth, just ahead of Tambay, although the Frenchman had the momentum going through Paddock Hill Bend, and so lined up a move into Druids. Priaulx moved to cover the dive, but Tambay was committed and ultimately spun the Brit round, pushing Priaulx to the back and himself into the pitlane with a drive-through. The leaders steadily made their way into the pits for their first stops after the 30 lap mark, Farfus coming in before Rockenfeller in an attempt to run in clean air and catch up. Tomczyk, meanwhile, was continuing to move up the field, finding himself behind Merhi in a battle for fourteenth after his stop. A better exit out of Druids for the German saw him get alongside Merhi into the braking for Graham Hill Bend, but the Spaniard had the upper hand, and eased Tomczyk onto the grass on the outside of the corner. Tomczyk spun as a result, rejoining after a significant amount of time lost, while Merhi was handed a penalty for causing his dramas. By the halfway mark only Edoardo Mortara and Miguel Molina were yet to stop, although that was rectified a lap later, as Rockenfeller continued to extend his lead. Farfus and Spengler were trying hard to catch the German but continued to be hampered by traffic, while Scheider fended off Wittmann for fourth. The best Mercedes driver was Robert Wickens, whose unusually quiet race left him running in seventh, as several of his stablemates opted to make early second stops. Merhi soon found himself back in the pits, this time for ignoring blue flags, a drive through the punishment for the infringement. Priaulx also incurred the penalty as Rockenfeller made his second stop with 30 laps to go, handing the lead to Farfus. Or so it should have, but the Brazilian was suddenly struck with a gearbox issue, causing him to tumble down the order before coming to a stop down on the main straight. Farfus did manage to drag his car far enough of the circuit to prevent a safety car, but that was of little solace for him, as he was out of the race. The final third of the race saw a calm emerge across the field, as the battle at the front of the field disappeared. Final stops for most of the drivers did little to shuffle the order, until an incident with just thirteen laps to go. Ekstrom was duelling with Mortara into Graham Hill Bend, only to be shoveled off the circuit by his team mate, a move which earned Mortara a trip through the pitlane. It was a fateful delay for the Italian, however, as he crashed out a couple of laps later, losing control through McLaren. As Mortara's car was dragged away under yellow flags, the race came to a conclusion, with Rockenfeller winning for the second time, ahead of Spengler. Gary Paffett finished third after having Wickens fight a rear guard action on his behalf for the final fifteen laps or so, the Canadian successfully defending the position from Wittmann and Hand in the final stages. Also of note was the performance of Pascal Wehrlein, who claimed his first point after a late charge to finish tenth. After the race, Paffett was handed a five second penalty for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags, meaning he dropped to sixth, promoting Wickens to the podium for the first time. Results The second race final result is displayed below: * Indicates a driver started on soft or "option" tyres. Indicates a driver started on hard or "prime" Hankook tyres. ** Paffett penalised five seconds for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags. Category:Races Category:2013 Races Category:Brands Hatch Milestones *Final DTM race to be held at Brands Hatch, ending an eight year run since 2006. *Second career win for Mike Rockenfeller. **First podium for Robert Wickens. **First point for Pascal Wehrlein. Standings Victory handed Mike Rockenfeller the lead in the Championship, one point ahead of defending Champion Bruno Spengler, as Augusto Farfus' retirement saw him slip to third. Gary Paffett remained in fourth as both the best Brit and best Mercedes driver as the field began to form. Christian Vietoris completed the top five, with Robert Wickens, Pascal Wehrlein and adding their name to the scorers list in 2013. BMW established an already daunting lead in the Brands' Championship, leading Mercedes by almost twice the point tally already. Audi had made ground in both Brands and Teams' Championships, Team Phoenix moving up to fourth, ahead of the second HWA Team. BMW Team Schnitzer took over the lead of the Teams' battle from Team RBM, and had pulled a small gap to the first non-BMW team. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:Races Category:2013 Races Category:Brands Hatch